PIAA basketball: Silver still works for Lincoln Park's foundation

Chuck Curti

Saturday

Mar 26, 2011 at 12:01 AMMar 26, 2011 at 10:45 PM

STATE COLLEGE -- Chaquille Pratt was having none of it. When PIAA officials summoned the Lincoln Park seniors to center court to collect the silver runner-up trophy, Pratt had to be coaxed by a teammate. As he left the court following the ceremonies, he had his silver medal hidden in his hand rather than displayed around his neck. He swung his arm back and forth, almost looking as if he wanted to discard the medal in the nearest trash can.

Asked after the game if, in a few days, he and his teammates will be able to look back fondly on their accomplishments at Lincoln Park, Pratt was bemused.

"The way I look at it is, if we didn't win it all, we didn't accomplish anything," he said.

Pratt's disappointment was understandable. He had done all he could. He put the Leopards on his broad shoulders and tried to carry them across the finish line in the biggest game in the program's four-year history.

He scored a game-high 27 points, 15 in the second half when Lincoln Park twice rallied to within three points of Math, Civics & Science.

In the end, MCS had too much firepower and hit too many clutch shots. Lincoln Park fell 70-55 in the PIAA Class A championship game at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center.

The fact is there's a silver lining in all the silver earned by Pratt and the Leopards the past two years. With two WPIAL runner-up finishes and one in the state playoffs, Lincoln Park has taken huge strides toward establishing itself as one of the state's top Class A programs.

Remember, the program is just four years old.

"We set (the bar) pretty high this year and last year," said senior Kyle Taylor. "Hopefully, they can carry it over and get a ‘W,' get a championship to the school. It would be nice."

Future teams at Lincoln Park can take an example from the 2010-11 version. The Leopards overcame tough loss after tough loss and kept on fighting all the way to the Bryce Jordan Center.

They didn't win their section, suffering two epic losses to Rochester - once after the Rams made a furious rally in the fourth quarter and once in a rout - and losing to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.

They didn't win the WPIAL championship even after nemesis Rochester was knocked out in the quarterfinals. In fact, their showing against Vincentian at the A.J. Palumbo Center was poor.

Yet, back they came, winning four PIAA playoff games, including over Vincentian, to reach the state final.

For all the expectations laid on Lincoln Park at the outset of the season, any number of its failures could have destroyed the team. Instead, it pulled together and gave itself a shot to win a state championship.

"I feel we can be back here next year definitely," said Devontae Watson, a junior who had 13 points and 13 rebounds against MCS. "This team has the determination to do it. We've been here and now we see a reason to come back.

"We love coming into these games, we love playing in championship games. We just want to win them."

That silver trophy Pratt was so reluctant to embrace returned to Midland on the team bus Friday night. It will take its place alongside the two silver WPIAL trophies the Leopards earned the past two seasons.

Some of the players might find it tough to look at for a while. They may walk past it with their heads down, or perhaps sneak just a slight glance out of the corner of an eye.

Lincoln Park may play in the same town as legends like Norm Van Lier and Simmie Hill. It may play in the same gymnasium that saw many championship Midland teams. It may even bear the same nickname.

But this is a new school with new traditions to build. Silver may not satisfy now, but it will solidify the future. It will be a gleaming steppingstone to even greater accomplishments.

"I believe we will," said Watson when presented with the same question about looking back fondly on the team's accomplishments, "but we're going to want better. We're going to want to come back here and win this. We're just going to keep our spirits up and come back and win this next year."

Chuck Curti can be reached at ccurti@timesonline.com.

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